Vox pop

Finally, the best man has made it to the big houseWith reference to the editorial Ascent to the big house (Our Take, July 23), it is a matter of great pride that a man of Pranab Mukherjee’s political acumen and administrative skills is going to be the next president of the country. Mukherjee whose political career spans over four decades that saw him serve three prime ministers and who even on his last day in the finance ministry worked late into the night will bring a wealth of experience to the highest office of the country. One only hopes that his tenure at Rashtrapati Bhavan is an eventful one. N Ramamurthy, Chennai

Mukherjee’s landslide victory proves that he enjoys the admiration of political leaders across party lines and this was reflected in the results that showed cross-voting in his favour in the BJP-ruled states of Karnataka, Jharkhand and Gujarat by the party’s legislators. A man who has earned the sobriquet of ‘walking encyclopedia’ will be the best person to handle the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when a fractured mandate is expected. Pranav Tripathi, Kanpur

Don’t let the ground go dryThis refers to Shivani Singh’s article Why build so many ghost cities (Metro matters, July 23). It is undeniable that in this day and age urbanisation is inevitable. However, this cannot be done at the cost of our natural resources, especially groundwater. The recent court order prohibiting any construction in Gurgaon until the builder informs about proper water connection with an undertaking that he would not use underground water speaks volumes about the crisis. It’s time the government implements the proposed policy to make groundwater public property so that people do not waste groundwater. GK Arora, Delhi